Ikariam
Game info Ikariam is a free online real-time strategy game released in 2008 by Gameforge AG. The concept behind Ikariam is much like Sid Meier's well-known Civilization games. Each player is given a small town and constructs buildings such as Barracks, Ports, and Taverns to create a larger town, and palaces, which are constructed to allow for the expansion of the empire. Unlike most online browser games, Ikariam puts great emphasis on trade and diplomacy, though it does also feature combat. It is impossible for a town to be completely captured by another player, but it can still be pillaged, controlled, or blockaded. Gameplay Ikariam runs on different servers, referred to as "worlds" or "realms". There are currently 12 realms, named Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, My, and Ny in line with the classical-era game plot. Servers aimed at different countries or language-groups (about 20 by mid-May 2008) use the same names for their worlds. Players of Ikariam start off on an island with other players, a "Wonder of the World", a luxury good source, and a saw mill. There are currently eight "Wonders of the World": Hephaistos' Forge, Temple of Gaia, Garden of Dionysus, Temple of Athene, Temple of Hermes, Ares' Stronghold, Temple of Poseidon, and the Colossus. Each of the Wonders has a major active effect, such as, "The production of wine is doubled" (Dionysus) and activates only when the players on an island have donated a set amount of gold to their allocated wonder. Wonders also have a minor passive effect, such as "The production of marble is increased by 10%" (Gaia). The luxury goods are: *Crystal – Needed for the academy, doctors, spies, and military improvements in the workshop. Can also be used to accelerate research, as soon as Glass (Science) has been discovered. *Marble – Needed for higher expansion stages of most buildings. *Sulphur – Needed for all units and war ships except slingers. *Wine – Needed for keeping citizens happy (through the tavern), increasing the town population, and training cooks. Players need to research in each of the four research trees – Seafaring, Military, Economy, or Science - in the Academy, in order to build better structures; Military to create higher-level land-based units to pillage other people's towns or defend one's own; and Seafaring to establish new colonies, and to create better ships for blockading other people's ports to intercept the cargo ships going through, or for clearing such blockades. Players can research diplomacy, which means they can forge alliances (groups of players who cannot attack one another and in most cases help each other with resources and defense). Players can also, with other research, create trade agreements (whereby other players cannot take goods from a market offer if a player with a trade agreement with the offerer accepts it) and Cultural Goods agreements (which allow players to exchange goods at museums, increasing happiness). Criticism Players have criticized the game and Gameforge on several grounds: * At higher levels, it can take weeks of gathering and shipping resources to do an upgrade. * There is no endgame. * It is not possible to destroy an enemy city, only to pillage it. * Some players feel that military action is too easily defended against. * Players cannot communicate with game developers directly, only via forum moderators and game operators. Gameforge appear to have addressed at least some of these issues in Patch 0.3.0.